Hamburg was one of Germany's main musical centres in the 17th century. This
was the result of excellent musicians working in the city, both in the church
and in the opera. The three musicians who played a central role in church music
were the organist Heinrich Scheidemann, the violinist Johann Schop and the Musikdirektor Thomas
Selle. The organ works of Scheidemann are relatively well represented on disc,
but so far the compositions of the other two are hardly explored. Therefore
this disc devoted to sacred works of Selle is most welcome.

Selle's early years are relatively poorly documented. He was born in Zörbig
in Saxonia, and probably went to the Thomasschule in Leipzig, and then to the
university. It is likely he was acquainted with or even a pupil of Sethus Calvisius,
choirmaster of the Thomasschule, and his successor Johann Hermann Schein. From
1624 to 1641 he held several positions in the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf.
The position of church and city music director in Hamburg was a prestigious
one, and the fact that he was appointed as such is an indication of his reputation.
This is confirmed by the praise of the senior of the local pastorate, calling
him "a man who is very learned and excellently versed in the Muses".

Selle had a decisive influence on the performing conditions in the churches
in Hamburg. The local town musicians were included in performances of liturgical
music and additional musicians were hired. Selle also made sure more singers
were available, some of whom were from outside the church. The increase in
size and quality of the vocal and instrumental ensemble gave him the opportunity
to perform technically demanding music with large ensembles, something he seems
to have preferred. In the preface to a collection of music of 1627 Selle shows
his dislike of small forces. It therefore comes as no surprise that several
pieces for two to five choirs figure on this disc.

The main work is the Historia der Auferstehung, which is set for 8 and
14 voices with basso continuo. The text is based on a gospel harmony published
by Johannes Bugenhagen in 1526 which was also the basis for the Auferstehungshistorie of
Heinrich Schütz. One of the remarkable aspects of this work is that it
is almost twice as long as Schütz's, because it also contains the story
about the apostle Thomas and Jesus' Ascension. Unfortunately this part of the
work has been left out. After the passage where Jesus sends his apostles to
spread his message we hear the Conclusio: "Now thank we all God,
who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." There
was enough space on the disc to perform the whole work, but evidently Manfred
Cordes preferred to present only the first part, in order to have space for
other compositions for Easter. But this is a live recording, so the requirements
of a concert could also explain this decision. It is regrettable nevertheless
as it is doubtful whether we will ever get the opportunity to hear the work
complete.

It is an interesting and expressive piece. The role of the Evangelist is sung
by a tenor, who is supported by bass viols and bc. The words of Jesus are accompanied
by two violins and bc. There is a strong connection between text and music,
and Selle misses no opportunity to translate dramatic moments into his music.
This is well explored in the performance: the ensemble is excellent, and in
particular the interpretation of the role of the Evangelist deserves much praise.
The singer of this part isn't mentioned, but I assume it is Julian Podger.
Wolf-Matthias Friedrich is no less impressive in his performance of the role
of Jesus.

As in Hamburg Selle had a considerable number of musicians at his disposal
he adapted some earlier works by extending the scoring. For instance, the first
piece in the programme, A Domino factum est illud, was originally scored
for alto, two tenors, bass and bc, but in Hamburg Selle added two soprano parts,
which resulted in a six-part chorus. In order to enrich the ritornellos and
the newly-created sinfonia he added two four-part instrumental groups, which
are played here by strings and wind respectively. And again we find some good
text expression, in particular as a change of rhythm is used to express the
joy in the last line: "let us rejoice and be glad in it".

The hymns which were an important part of church music in the 17th century
frequently appear in Selle's compositions. They are often the subject of chorale
variations. Selle arranges them in various ways as the pieces on this disc
show. Unfortunately these are also mostly performed incomplete: from Christ
lag in Todesbanden we only get verses 1, 2, 5 and 6, and of the 10 verses
of Jesus Christus, unser Heiland we hear only the first four.

Christ ist erstanden is another well-known hymn which is used by Selle
for a chorale concerto. The sinfonia contains a virtuoso violin part, and it
is reasonable to assume that this part was intended to be played by Johann
Schop, one of North-Germany's most famous violinists. One of the smallest-scored
pieces on the programme is Erstanden ist der Herre Christ for tenor
and three instruments, which dates from an earlier period in Selle's career. Ich
weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt is also assumed to be written
before his time in Hamburg. It is written in motet-style and set for eight
voices in a high and a low choir. In the programme notes Jürgen Neubacher
refers to the fact that Selle owned many collections of music by Lassus, showing
his great interest in counterpoint.

The sacred works by Selle on this disc are performed with one voice per part,
and that reflects what was common practice in his time. In the large-scale
pieces instruments are usually added to play colla parte with the voices.
Weser-Renaissance is an ensemble with a long and thorough experience in German
music of the 17th century. All singers know this kind of repertoire, and that
includes the British tenor Julian Podger, who received part of his musical
education in Germany.

The performances are technically immaculate, both vocally and instrumentally,
and display a great amount of text expression. In addition the rhythmic flexibility
of the ensemble and the dynamic contrasts as well as the sensible instrumental
scoring help to communicate the splendour of this repertoire.

This disc bears witness to the quality of Selle's sacred music and gives some
idea about the level of music-making in Hamburg in the 17th century. Let's
hope more of this repertoire is going to be explored.